In WWI, a French ace took command of a squadron that had suffered 13 losses without a single win and turned it into a competent unit. Born on May 29, 1893, in Brest, France, Henri Hay De Slade came from a military family. His father was a naval officer who died in 1908. Hay de Slade started his military career as a cadet at Saint-Cyr in 1913. Henri Hay De Slade transferred to aviation on May 11, 1916, earning a Pilot’s Brevet in August of that year. After completing training, he was assigned to N80 on December 13, 1916. Then, he was reassigned to N86 on April 16, 1917, where he flew a Nieuport fighter.
Ace Journey of Henri Hay De Slade
Henri Hay de Slade’s first victory came on May 20, 1917, when he shot down a DFW C, followed by another victory on May 29. After scoring one victory in each August and September, on December 5, 1917, he shot down a Rumpler C aircraft to officially become an ace. His score remained five till the end of 1917. In 1918, his first victory came in March, followed by three in May, and one each in June and July, bringing his score to 11. On July 28, 1918, Hay de Slade took command of the Spa 159 squadron. It was a difficult job as the squadron had lost 13 pilots, including its previous leader, without achieving any victories. In his new unit, Henri Hay De Slade painted bright red stripes on his Spad S.XIII and instructed his pilots to follow his strategies in dogfights. The squadron learned from watching him and began to win. Despite his new responsibilities, Henri Hay De Slade scored two victories in August, two in September, and four in October, to end his WWI run at 19. His victories included six EA aircraft, three two-seater aircraft, two each of Albatros D.IIIs and Rumpler C aircraft, one each of Fokker D.VII, Pfalz D.III, and DFW C aircraft, and three balloons. In WWI, he was awarded the Officer of the Légion d’honneur, the Médaille militaire, the Croix de Guerre with 14 Palms, the Military Cross (Britain), and the Order of the Crown (Italy).
Postwar and Legacy
Henri Hay De Slade left the army in 1926 to become a farmer in the village of Derval, where his family owned land. He served as the mayor from 1935 to 1974. During WWII, he was shortly recalled to service as a commandant and assigned to run an aviation factory. After France was liberated, the local Liberation Committee ordered his arrest for collaborating with the enemy. However, his deputy, who was seen as a supporter of the Francists, stirred up the townspeople by claiming the arrest was part of a communist takeover. It led a crowd of about 150 locals to attack the two representatives from the Liberation Committee who came to arrest him. Although he was officially removed from office as mayor, Henri Hay De Slade continued to open the mail and give orders, working with the village priest as if he were still in charge. He died on November 2, 1979. In the Aces series, Henri Hay De Slade was a careful pilot and thoughtful leader who helped his fellow pilots to fly better and win aerial battles. His leadership qualities were also visible during his time as a mayor. Read stories about more Aces HERE.
